Southern California -- this just in

Grandmother beaten by parolee, saved by grandkids, police say

August 6, 2012 | 4:00
pm

A parolee with a 42-page rap sheet dating to the 1980s was arrested Monday morning after he allegedly walked into the residence of an 80-year-old woman to charge his cellphone and then beat her at knife-point, South Pasadena police investigators said.

The crime was reported at 7:40 a.m. Monday by the victim who lives in the 1000 block of Indiana Avenue, according to South Pasadena police. The suspect is believed to have taken the Gold Line from downtown Los Angeles and walked several blocks to the home where the attack took place. He fled when three of the woman's grandchildren -- including two under age 10 -- came to visit, police said.

The woman, who was not identified, told officers that a man entered her home through a closed door and asked if he could charge his cellular telephone. When she asked him to leave, the assailant pulled out a kitchen knife and threatened to kill her, said South Pasadena Det. Bill Early.

The victim then was forced into a rear bedroom by the suspect, who pushed her face down on the bed as he held a knife to her. As the attack continued, the assailant tied the woman's hands behind her back while "beating her into submission with his hands and fists," police said.

The man, who was dressed in a suit and alligator shoes, took off on foot, Early said. Officers from several police departments eventually caught up with him in the 5100 block of Huntington Drive after witnesses identified a man in a suit running through a residential neighborhood.

A fedora believed to be worn by the suspect was recovered from the crime scene.

The victim is being treated at a hospital for a broken nose, unspecified internal injuries, and numerous cuts and bruises, Early said. The grandchildren were undergoing counseling after the trauma of witnessing their grandmother being beaten.

Alonzo Johnson, 51, was booked on multiple charges, including attempted murder and burglary, Early said. Johnson, who has a dozen aliases, has served time in state prison and has at least six previous felony arrests -- including ones involving robbery and burglary -- dating to the early 1980s.